14 South Asians among Truman Scholarship finalists

Each Truman Scholar receives funding for graduate studies, leadership training and fellowship opportunities within the federal government

At least 14 South Asian American students from 133 institutions are among 199 finalists for Truman Foundation Scholarships, the premier graduate scholarship for aspiring public service leaders in the United States.

Selected from 705 applications from 275 institutions, the finalists will interview with the foundation’s Regional Review Panels between March 2 and April 4.

Read: Four Indian American students among 2022 Truman Scholars (April 28, 2022)

Each Truman Scholar receives funding for graduate studies, leadership training, career counseling, and special internship and fellowship opportunities within the federal government.

Established by Congress in 1975 as the living memorial to the 33rd US President, Harry S. Truman Truman, the scholarship carries his legacy by supporting and inspiring the next generation of public service leaders.

South Asian American finalists include: Rukmini Banerjee, Claremont McKenna College, California; Anushree Chaudhuri and Malhaar Agrawal, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Shreeya Parekh, University of Delaware; Nidhi S. Krishnan, Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri; Kevli Sheth, Centre College in Danville, Kentucky; Shruthi Kumar, Harvard University; Hamza Choudhry, Rutgers University, New Jersey; Samiha Islam, State University of New York-Buffalo; Ayesha Khan, CUNY City College; Rohit Kataria, Vanderbilt University; Kavi Shrestha, University of Oregon; Kirthi Kumar, University of California-Berkeley; and Azeem Khan, West Virginia University.

The scholarship is awarded to college juniors “with exceptional leadership potential who are committed to careers in government, nonprofit or advocacy sectors, education or elsewhere in public service.”

Read: Next Gen Leaders: Several South Asian American Students Among 199 Truman Scholarship Finalists (March 2, 2023)

It aims “to sustain and empower the community of Truman scholars and to strengthen a commitment to public service in all its forms through intellectual, personal and professional development.”

Last year four Indian American college students were selected as 2022 Truman Scholars. Avi Gupta, Bhav Jain, Amisha A Kambath and Eshika Kaul, were among 58 exceptional college students from 53 US colleges and universities selected as 2022 Truman Scholars.